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Golden Globes, Ricky Gervais: What’s Really Going On?

Roger Friedman
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The entertainment biz is a buzz tonight about Sunday’s Golden Globes, the scandals, and Ricky Gervais. There are so many different versions of the story by now, who knows what’s going on?

I had two interactions with HFPA president Phil Berk last night. Before the show started, he came out in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton and asked me rhetorically, “Why don’t the people come in and eat the food? No one is eating!” After the show he came up to me and said, “Great show! We put on a great show!” It’s as if he’s Martin Landau playing Ed Wood playing Phil Berk. He loves being famous even if it means he’s a joke.

One Hollywood blog, called thewrap.com, is gung ho about the scandals of the Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press. They’re writing about it constantly. Another, Deadline.com, has turned into such a suck up machine that they’ve abandoned the subject entirely. They’ve never reported on the lawsuit filed by Michael Russell against the HFPA. They do lob ad hominem, personal attacks against everyone else (so and so is an a-hole, etc).

Then there’s the new HFPA press rep, Ken Sunshine Associates. No one is better at spinning a story than Ken Sunshine, who I count as a friend. Thanks to Ken and his office, any of the following things are possible: the HFPA loved Ricky’s monologue or hated it. the dreadfully boring Phil Berk loved or hated it. Ricky will or will not be invited back. Ricky does or doesn”t care what people think. All of these things exist as true simultaneously now in reports. Ken is brilliant.

Also: does anyone aside from the real press care about the HFPA scandals? Conflict of interest? Bribery? Under the table deals? Fraud? In Hollywood, these things are considered admirable! Just the fact that the HFPA has gotten away with it all has made them seem cooler to this lunatic town.

For example: I found out that one of the more miserable members of the group went to Vegas an on all expense paid trip over New Year’s. Who paid? Possibly someone from a nominated film. When I asked Berk about it, he was eager to rat out the member. There’s no honor among thieves! As Robert DeNiro noted, they fight among themselves!

See the video of Ricky Gervais’s monologue below.

Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban: Reason for New Baby Daughter’s Name–Exclusive

Roger Friedman
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Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have a new baby daughter.

Faith Margaret was born to a surrogate on December 28th at Nashville’s Centennial Women’s Hospital.

I can tell you this exclusively: according to a friend, they chose the name Faith “for what they needed to have during this process.” And Margaret: “was the name of Nicole’s grandmother, who had her last child at age 49. As an older mother, Nic wanted it to be  a tribute to her.”

But I am told the parents will not–absolutely not–be selling pictures or doing interviews about Faith Margaret. Unlike some recent pr stunts (hello John Travolta) the Urbans are staying private and classy.

The proud parents issued the following statement: “Our family is truly blessed, and just so thankful, to have been given the gift of baby Faith Margaret. No words can adequately convey the incredible gratitude that we
feel for everyone who was so supportive throughout this process, in particular our gestational carrier.”

We’re pretty sure gestational carrier was a female human and not a kangaroo!

Kidman has two children from her marriage to Tom Cruise, Isabella and Conor. She and Urban, of course, are the parents of Sunday Rose, age 2.

So much for reports from a few weeks ago that Nicole had a “baby bump!”

Congratulations to this exceptionally nice, loving couple on rounding out their happy family.

Leo, Julianne, Jake Make the Late Night Golden Globe Parties

Roger Friedman
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Leo, Julianne, Jake Make the Late Night Golden Globe Parties

So who had the latest of the late night Golden Globe party?

If you were at the Chateau Marmont around 4am, the answer was easy. The legendary Hollywood celeb hotel was literally ablaze with lights in all the windows. The restaurant and outdoor patio were buzzing, and outside there were lines of limos and livery cars, as well as the token autograph hounds and paparazzi.

Inside, a big group ordered a marathon dinner of spaghetti bolognese–maybe 18 in total including the “Blue Valentine” gang of Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, director Derek Cianfance, producer Jamie Patricof, as well as Harvey Weinstein, Jake Gyllenhaal, and John Corbett. Out on the patio, “Chuck” and “Tangled” star Zack Levi dined with some pals. There were rumors of private parties in all the bungalows. It was a confluence of events–Golden Globe night and the Martin Luther King holiday.

Many of the revelers had arrived from the CAA agency party down the street at the Sunset Towers Hotel. Guests like Leonardo Di Caprio, Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban chowed down on sliders and reviewed the evening’s events. Quentin Tarantino was involved in a long director’s discourse with Chris Evans, while “Entourage” star Kevin Connolly and his own entourage formed a posse on the terrace.  With Michelle Williams, Emma Stone, Jake Gyllenhaal, Andrew Garfield, it was certainly the hot spot for the cool kids.

Ricky Gervais Hints “Office” Appearance, Suggests Steve Carell Replacement

Roger Friedman
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Ricky Gervais is my hero.

His running of the Golden Globes was superb; his jokes were biting and welcomed. Nasty? He didn’t say anything that people in the audience last night weren’t thinking. The Globes are a joke, run by crazy people who fight among themselves in front of the actors during press conferences, and insist on having their pictures taken with the stars.

Ricky’s best jabs, though, were at gay scientologists and Mel Gibson. Wow.

After the awards show I caught up with Ricky at the HBO party on the lower level of the Beverly Hilton. He was having a drink with friends, quietly, coming down from the adrenaline rush of the show.Around him the room buzzed with HBO’s winners and players from Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to Steve Buscemi and the gang from “Boardwalk Empire,” and Richard Kind, Robert Wuhl, Mark Wahlberg, and even Sean Diddy Combs.

Gervais told me a couple of important things about “The Office.” Of course, he’d introduced Steve Carell by crying that the American actor was leaving their “cash cow.”

Who would Ricky like to see replace Carell? “Will Arnett,” he said. “I always thought so. No one’s asked me but that’s what I think. He’s perfect.”

Ricky also gave Showbiz411 a couple of clues–hints–about what’s to come. He may yet appear on the Anerican show, and soon. “Watch on the 27th,” he said, “and you’ll get an idea of who’s going to be running The Office.” Will he be on that episode? “Just watch,” he reassured me.

Meanwhile, Ricky’s new HBO show starts this week. And he’s getting ready to film a new series for the BBC and HBO called “Life’s Too Short.”

As for the Golden Globe gig: it was rehearsed. The people he poked fun at knew what was coming, In a perverse way, HFPA president Phil Berk somehow enjoys the negative attention. Go figure.

Golden Globe Wrap: Social, Colin, Natalie, Annette, Paul–Will the Oscars Be Different?

Roger Friedman
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Golden Globe Wrap: Social, Colin, Natalie, Annette, Paul–Will the Oscars Be Different?

The Golden Globe for Best Picture went to “The Social Network.”

Now what will the Academy do? Last year, after the Globe went to “Avatar,” the Academy chose “The Hurt Locker” for Best Picture.

This could happen again. The Globes have been so discredited in the last few weeks it’s entirely possible the Oscar will go to another film.

For now, though, the people behind “The Social Network” can enjoy their tremendous success. David Fincher won Best Director also for “The Social Network.”

Best Actor went to Colin Firth, Best Actress to Natalie Portman. In the comedy/musical, the acting awards went to Annette Bening and Paul Giamatti.

Robert DeNiro Gets Lifetime Achievement Award, Gets Bleeped

Roger Friedman
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Robert DeNiro, who doesn’t like to speak in public, had a rough time tonight on the Golden Globes.

DeNiro — a little looser than usual– mocked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association ruthlessly, made some jokes that weren’t too funny and lamented the fact that his clip reel always contains scenes from the same movies. He chided the group for not showing bits of about a dozen movies no one’s seen– or ever wanted to.

DeNiro also made fun of the HFPA for just wanting to take pictures with celebrities. He’s right; that’s what they’re known for.

But the DeNiro canon is safe. He’s got a long list of classics that no one can knock or take away from him. But someone should have taken away his drinks at the dinner table–no matter how nervous he was. NBC at least saved him with a little well placed bleeping.

Laura Linney: Bittersweet Globes Win; Annette Bening Finally!

Roger Friedman
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Golden Globes update:

Laura Linney just won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in “The Big C.” But it’s a bittersweet victory since Linney’s beloved playwright dad, Romulus Linney, died yesterday. Life is full of these ironies. Laura is so good in “The Big C,” she deserves to enjoy her success. Condolences.

Annette Bening, meanwhile, won Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for “The Kids Are All Right,” which is neither a comedy or a musical. Natalie Portman will win Best Actress in a Drama later tonight. Then the two will go head to head in the Oscar race.

So far who looks great: Jane Fonda, spectacular.  Melissa Leo, who rocks.

Odd stuff: so many of the TV nominees, and all the “Glee” winners. HBO has raked in the awards tonight, for Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire,” and Al Pacino as Jack Kevorkian. If it weren’t for HBO there would be no dramatic TV. The networks should be ashamed of themselves. Strange juxtaposition: Claire Danes and Jennifer Love Hewitt in the same category. Hmmm….

Exclusive: Michael Douglas to Present Best Picture at Globes

Roger Friedman
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Michael Douglas–fresh from his spectacular recovery from throat cancer–is set to present the Best Picture award tonight at the Golden Globes.

This will make for good, emotional live television. Watch for a thunderous standing ovation as Douglas takes the stage at the end of the show.

Douglas may also be on stage at the beginning of the show too. Scarlett Johansson is presenting Best Supporting Actor. And although Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush–who flew in from Australia–are more likely winners, Douglas could nab the prize for his work on “Wall Street 2.”

Douglas and dad Kirk Douglas have long been Golden Globe favorites. A few years ago, the Hollywood Foreign Press even made a cash donation to the Douglas Family Foundation to ensure their presence for Michael’s lifetime achievement award.

Either way, it will be great to see Michael on stage, victorious and healthy, iwth beautiful Oscar winning wife Catherine Zeta Jones by his side.

Duchess of Windsor Actress from Madonna’s New Film: History is Wrong

Roger Friedman
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In Madonna‘s upcoming film, “W.E.” history is going to take a back seat to fantasy.

According to 29 year old british actress Andrea Riseborough, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were not Nazi sympathizers–even though they visited the Third Reich, appeared in a newsreel with them, and are well documented historically to have made some horrendous social and political choices. As well, the Duchess of Windsor–Wallis Simpson–did not cheat on the Duke. And the Duke–formerly King Edward VIII–was brilliant.

Riseborough, who plays Wallis in “W.E.,” told me at the all star BAFTA/LA tea party yesterday at the Four Seasons Hotel in West Hollywood that I’ve got it all wrong, and so does everyone else.

“W.E.” in fact will be quite different than “The King’s Speech,” that’s for sure. But as one “Speech” actor said,m gesticulating as if weighing the two options: “Director Madonna? or Director Tom Hooper? Hmmm…”

According to Riseborough, who resembles the Duchess and is quite articulate: “Do you know how many people visited the Nazis? Everyone was enthralled with them.” She told me that the Duke and Duchess were just two of lots of people, and shouldn’ t be thought of badly. Also, the gist of “W.E.”– or least its back story–is going to be that Edward was the brilliant brother, and that Bertie–King George–played so brilliantly by Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech’–was the wanker.

I can just see the headlines now–Madonna Causing a Commotion with Historians! Maybe she should start reading here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/britains-wouldbe-nazi-queen-1312830.html

Riseborough also tells me that in the film, her character–Wallis Simpson–will have some fantastical cross-generational meetings in person with a modern character called Wally, played by Abbe Cornish.

The film, all done and now being edited, will probably be sent to the Cannes Film Festival for possible inclusion.

Nicole Kidman Wows British Academy Tea in Hollywood

Roger Friedman
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Hollywood blissfully partied on last night for the 2011 Golden Globes despite the hovering black cloud of scandal, FCC questions, lawsuits, and questions about whether NBC wants to be burdened with these weird situations.

In brief: the ex publicist for the Globes sued them this week for $2 million and alleged all kinds of payola and fraud. While the publicist probably doesn’t have much of a case, the Hollywood Foreign Press is now imperiled by years of secrets springing forth. It won’t be pretty, as my readers have known for years.

Meantime, Saturday brought the annual BAFTA/LA tea party, a great afternoon at the Four Seasons Hotel sponsored by Bombay Sapphire–and a lot of it was going around while stars like Nicole Kidman, Michelle Williams, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Barbara Hershey, Brenda Vaccaro, Jeff Bridges, Ben Affleck, Jackie Bisset, Jeremy Renner, Melissa Leo, composer Alexandre Desplat, Andrew Garfield, and so on.

Of course, in that group, Nicole Kidman got the most attention. She’s headed to an Oscar nomination for  “Rabbit Hole,” a tremendous performance and maybe her best work in years (which is saying something). Kidman produced the movie after she optioned the Broadway play, and made the project come together. She was on her own yesterday, leaving husband Keith Urban home with toddler daughter Sunday Rose.

Some of the guests wound up coming late–Newsweek magazine (still in business, who knew?) convinced a bunch of nominees–Firth, James Franco, Kidman etc–to sit for a roundtable discussion that they also filmed–I don’t know if it’s for the Newsweek website, the Daily Beast, or Harman Kardon.

“Those roundtables are like group therapy,” Nicole said with a laugh.

And BAFTA? Very high on “The King’s Speech,” of course.

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